Digital boxes

Sep 7, 2005
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I have had a Tesco freeview box for several years which has given me a lot of grief by saying "No signal". At other times it has been fine, giving me a few extra channels. I am now in the process of replacing it with something that works but I have no idea what to look for. All I want is the usual channels with ITV 2, ITV 3, BBC 3 etc - nothing too sophisticated as I don't understand how to set it up. I have a tv/video recorder combined which I would like to keep so I can record the odd programme while we are out. Are there any digital boxes with recorders in them? I don't really want to use my Sky box from home as I don't know how to set it up with a dish and satellite finder. Any suggestions please? Nothing too technical though. Thanks
 
Sep 28, 2010
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I recently purchased a 15" digital Freeview tv from Currys for under £100. It also plays DVDs and CDs and you can record programmes from it onto a Memory Stick. The only problem is that it only has a single tuner. That means it can only record the programme that is on the TV at the time, you cannot watch one programme and record a separate program BUT it is ideal if you are going out for a meal in the evening. You can record a soap and watch it when you return for example
 
Jul 11, 2006
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In respect of the Tesco box and 'no signal' many people don't understand the way Freeview boxes work, and this may be your actual problem. If you have used it at one location and then move somewhere else you will have to make it do a retune. However for many STBs that will just be a scan to see if it can find any additional channels or stations; if it already thinks it has a BBC1 and finds another BBC1 it may put it in the 800's or it may ignore it. You need to do a full (a.k.a. factory) reset (there will be such an option somewhere in the menu structure) to wipe its memory, then get it to do a new scan. It will then find the correct channels for wherever you are at that time.
Also remember that only main transmitter sites and some of the important relays will broadcast all channels; smaller relays will only transmit the 'usual' 1-5 channels plus a few others, but on such sites you will be missing things like ITV3, ITV4, PickTV, Yesterday etc. Relays will transmit PSB1-3 also known as BBCA, D3&4, and BBCB (which is HD only.) Have a look at the following link to see what stations you can expect from a relay.
http://www.dtg.org.uk/industry/dtt_channels.html
To confuse you more..... there are channels and stations. Channels are like we have now on analogue where each station (BBC1, ITV, etc) occupies one frequency. However in the digital world each channel carries a multiplex (or mux for short) where each mux contains up to eight TV stations and maybe ten radio stations, hence much more efficient use of spectrum and why DSO is happening.
After Digital Switchover (DSO) is complete next year your tv/video will not work. Most such sets are only able to record from an off-air signal and as it is analogue - and there will be no analogue - it is defunkt. If the set has a SCART socket on the back you may be able to use the TV to watch programmes sourced by a STB but is suspect you will not be able to record. Now is the time to get a new TV - there are some superb bargains to be had - but buy a good brand (such as Samsung, LG, Panasonic) as the cheaper ones just don't last. If you have a John Lewis' within range they usually offer a free five-year guarantee which is well worth having: if you don't look at Richer Sounds as not only are they price competitive but they only charge 10% to extend the guarantee to five years. Avoid the likes of Curry's or Comet as they will charge you a fortune for an extended guarantee.
There are plenty of digital recorders but they come in two forms.
The Personal Video Recorder or PVR is the most common around and the cheapest. Most have twin tuners so not only can you record two programs on different stations at the same time but (if you have a digital TV) can watch a third, or you can watch a recorded programme whilst the other two are still being recorded. You can also time shift: say a one hour prog starts at 20:00 but you won't get home until 20:15, you can start watching the recorded programme at 20:15 (say) whilst the PVR is still in the process of recording the original. A PVR records on a computer-type hard disc so there is no simple way of retaining the original, and you have to delete progs once you have watched them or the hard disc will fill up.
The second option is a sort of PVR with DVD recorder, usually known simply as a DVD-HDD recorder. On these you can record directly onto a DVD giving you a permanent copy, or you can record on the hard disc (like the PVR) and either watch and erase, or transfer it to a DVD if you want to keep it. These type of machines usually only permit one recording at once even though some have twin tuners so that the second tuner can be used like a STB to feed the TV.
For PVRs the cheaper end is such as Goodmans, TVonics, Sharp and supermarket brands; the more expensive end include such as Humax, Topfield, and Sagem. You will see Philips around but they are winding down their TV operation - not to say that they don't make good products so there may be some bargains to be had. If you want decent quality look at the Manager's Specials at
www.humax-direct.co.uk
Don't worry about complexity - almost all of them are easy to set up, in fact most will do it for you. If you run into problems there are plenty of places on the InterWeb where you can get help.
 
Sep 7, 2005
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Thanks for the info. It looks like I'll have to look into a new TV as well. By the way, I realise that you have to retune the freeview box every time you move the van but mostly we are on the same pitch at our storage site and it still tells us we have no signal when we have had it before. When rescanning a few minutes later it will pick up a signal and we have a great picture.
 
Nov 5, 2006
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we have a new panasonic freeview tv & recently have had a lot of problems with "no signal or Scambled channel) I am told this is to do with atmospheric conditions. my son in law also has the same problem . so before you throw away your digi box you may find its not it that is at fault
 
Aug 4, 2004
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missdiamonique said:
I have had a Tesco freeview box for several years which has given me a lot of grief by saying "No signal". At other times it has been fine, giving me a few extra channels. I am now in the process of replacing it with something that works but I have no idea what to look for. All I want is the usual channels with ITV 2, ITV 3, BBC 3 etc - nothing too sophisticated as I don't understand how to set it up. I have a tv/video recorder combined which I would like to keep so I can record the odd programme while we are out. Are there any digital boxes with recorders in them? I don't really want to use my Sky box from home as I don't know how to set it up with a dish and satellite finder. Any suggestions please? Nothing too technical though. Thanks
Have a read through this site and then decide if it is too complicated for you to set up a satellite dish. See http://www.satelliteforcaravans.co.uk/ wed find ti very easy and you always get a crystal clear pictreu and you always know in which direction to point the dish.
 

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